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Qassem SoleimaniQassem Soleimani, who was assassinated Jan. 2, 2020, in Baghdad in a U.S. airstrike, was at once both the shadowy commander of covert Iranian forces and a revered celebrity in an anti-American alliance that crosses sectarian lines across the Middle East.Soleimani, 62, held the rank of major general and commanded the Quds Force, a subset of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The secretive organization — Quds is the Arabic and Farsi name of Jerusalem, which Iran has sworn to liberate from Israel — combines the roles of special operations and spy agency and operates outside of Iran.

00000174-fa0c-de55-a17c-fe2d22d90000President Donald Trump is running for reelection in 2020 as the Republican nominee, and former Vice President Joe Biden is his Democratic challenger. North Carolina is expected to be a presidential battleground state, and voters' attitudes toward the presidential race could affect down-ballot candidates. New congressional maps in North Carolina make it likely that the state will send more Democrats to the U.S. House than in recent elections, and there are also new maps for General Assembly seats. Plus, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is running for reelection against Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and several statewide executive roles are also on the ballot. Election Day is Nov. 3. Because of the coronavirus, voting is expected to be much different this year, with more people than ever voting absentee by-mail or early. That could mean results of the election in tight races aren't known until well after Election Day, as the deadline for ballots to be received in North Carolina is Nov. 6.WFAE will cover the leadup to Election Day, with regular check-ins with Mecklenburg County Board of Elections Director Michael Dickerson, along with all the issues that will be most important to voters.If you want to stay constantly updated, sign up for reporter Steve Harrison's weekly Inside Politics newsletter for analysis of local and statewide politics.

Reed Parlier, left, and Riley Howell.On April 30, 2019, a shooting on the campus of the University of North Carolina Charlotte left two people dead and four injured. On the last day of classes a former UNCC student entered a classroom and began shooting. Reed Ellis Parlier and Riley Howell were killed. Drew Pescaro, Sean DeHart, Rami Al-Ramadhan and Emily Houpt were injured.